RPW Exclusive: Bobby Pierce Brings Out Backup Motor; Will Race Primary Car On Saturday
Column By: ROBERT SYMONDS / RPW – ROSSBURG, OH – After leading the 38th lap of Thursdays Preliminary Night Feature, Bobby Pierce looked to be solidly in command until his brand new Vic Hill power plant went up in smoke. After crossing the line for the final time on Thursday evening, Pierce pulled into the infield pit exit and came to a stop right by an Eldora safety truck. Thankfully Pierce’s machine was not on fire after seeing the amount of smoke coming out of the Low Voltage Solutions 32.
After the team went to work on the car, the issue of the motor expiring was possibly due to a misstep from the crew with the oil cooler which is located on the decking just behind the hood. The mistake cost Pierce a brand new motor, the $25,000 Prelim win, and a chance to be high point driver heading into Saturday. As Pierce mentioned to many people including in a social media post, “…an error on us in the pits which led to the failure.”
Friday morning, Pierce and the entire crew of the 32 have pulled the expired motor out of the primary car with the backup car lingering in the background on the other side of pit road on the front stretch. According to a crew member of the 32, they are not racing the backup car, they will be racing the primary car with a backup motor. The backup car is being used for any extra part that could be needed for the motor change.
Pierce does have a hill to climb come Saturday but not as much as one would think. Points from Thursdays Prelim were calculated and released Friday morning just before noon. Pierce currently sits 15th in the point standings but that will change after the conclusion of the Friday night Prelim Feature.
